Bungie recently released a patch for Halo 3, which addresses the following: -

• Melee contests have been rebalanced.
• Dying while performing a melee or weapon lunge will no longer accelerate the dead player.
• The Elite Commando shoulder armor variant has been unlocked for all players.
• Improved the “Prefer Good Connection” option.
• Added backend hopper support for DLC custom game variants.
• Fixed a problem with the Theater when a player tried to view a saved film for a DLC map he or she doesn’t own.
• Fixed a UI error in the Theater when a party leader selects a film that is invalid for a party client.
• Fixed a bug that under rare conditions could allow a BXB sequence.
• Fixed a Dirty Disc Error that could occur when loading the same DLC map twice in a row.
• Added a visible version string to the Halo 3 main menu.

All these fixes are fully explained on the Bungie forums, here.

Pretty much every major games news site, has some sort of audio podcast available for download. But what happens when you want to see what they're describing in action?

Very few games sites have video podcasts available for download, let alone good ones.  Below are my recommendations: -

The 1UP Show

Developed by 1UP.com, The 1UP Show is a weekly video podcast released each Friday.  It can be streamed directly from the site, or downloaded in various formats.  While sometimes a little less serious than most gaming shows, their opinions are spot on, and their footage is second to none.  Also featuring interviews with key members of the games industry, episodes of The 1UP Show are typically 30mins in length.  Downloaded shows are in a higher resolution to the streamed version, making them excellent to watch on your console, or computer, at full screen.

The Reboot Show

A relatively new video podcast, The Reboot Show is presented by Rio Pesino. With a slightly erratic release schedule, episodes of The Reboot Show are typically around 10mins in length.  This ensures that each episode is clear, concise, and straight to the point.  The only real issue I have, are with the downloadable versions of the show. With such small resolutions (matching the streaming content), it means watching via your console or computer at full screen, is simply not possible. This is only a minor problem however, and one that can easily be corrected for future episodes.  The Reboot Show's recent footage of the GDC, as well as interviews with female gamers, and pro gamers have been excellent; and in the case of the latter two, something we rarely see in video media.

1UP.com are reporting on the new "Legendary Map Pack" for Halo 3, the details for which have just been released by Bungie.

The first map shown, "Ghost Town," features decaying ruins similar to that of Sierra 117, and Crow's Nest from the single player campaign.

     
Halo 3 "Legendary Map Pack" - Ghost Town

Vic DeLeon, a Bungie artist who worked on the map, explains how the map's setting fits into the Halo universe: -

"Ghost Town is the fragmented ruins of a small 24th century water purification complex that geographically lies just North and West of the jungle foothills hydroelectric facility from the Sierra 117 mission. The well-protected facility built into a shallow ravine was once home to the Global Water Campaign, where the still somewhat-pure Kilimanjaro meltwater was transported via pipelines from the river and directed to this small outpost where it became further purified, and then transported via GWC trans-African pipelines along the Tsavo Highway for distribution throughout the entire continent."

The Halo 3 "Legendary Map Pack" is scheduled for release in Spring.

Full story, here.

One of the developer's behind The LiveEye (TLE) has announced that the site will be closing down on March 1st. TLE, a site responsible for tracking Xbox usage stats, has over 12000 members.

"Squidpunch," developer and one founders of the site, made a long post about the reasons's behind the closure.  He states that costs, and the loss of "ZaaM IT" (another founding member) are some of the major factors behind his decision.  360FriendSpot, the community behind TLE, will still remain open.

In closing, "Squidpunch" had this to say: -

"Perhaps not what everyone wants to hear, but at least the community is going to stay alive if you guys want it to, I am sad to see the live eye go it was some of the most interesting coding I have done in a long time, but since I am being completely honest, its somewhat a relief as well with all the support problems it had at times, and the performance, and always battling in my mind how to pass that limit if we ever got that high – doing that alone might have been too much. I hope you all continue to use the community at its new home, and with luck we can keep you regulars and gain some new members."

Read the full story, here.

Following on from their announcement of Gears of War 2, Epic also hosted a press conference to show the improvements that they have been making to the Unreal 3 engine, and how some of these new features will work in GoW 2.

New features include destructible environments, and the ability to have more enemies on screen at once (the running demo showed 100 Locust marching through the streets).

Here's hoping that these new features make it into the complete game (as suggested by the above video).

GDC 2008 was rocked with recent announcements from Microsoft and Epic.

Epic have announced that Gears of War 2 is currently in development, and will be released in November of this year. To coincide with this announcement, new items were added to the XBL marketplace.  These include a Gears of War 2 theme, picture pack, and trailer, all of which are free.

Next up, Microsoft made a number of announcements concerning XNA.  Games that have been developed using XNA Game Studio are to set to appear on the XBL Marketplace.  These games, developed by the community, will be free to download.

Microsoft also announced that XNA games will also appear on the Zune, as tools developed to support it have been integrated into XNA Games Studio.

And finally, Microsoft also announced that a number of it's software packages would be released free to students under the DreamSpark program. 

These titles include: -

• Visual Studio 2005 Professional Edition
• Visual Studio 2008 Professional Edition
• XNA Game Studio 2.0
• 12-month free membership in the XNA Creators Club
• Expression Studio, which includes Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design and Expression Media
• SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
• Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
• SQL Server Developer Edition
• Virtual PC 2007
• Visual Basic 2005
• Visual C++ 2005
• Visual C# 2005
• Visual J# 2005
• Visual Web Developer 2005

Note: These are full versions of the software packages.

Source: Major Nelson.

Update: Don't forget you can also catch the highlights via Inside Xbox, on your Xbox 360.

In a strange turn of events, 360 owners in the UK (and possibly the rest of Europe) can now see Major's Minute on Inside Xbox.

Previously, this was only viewable by those living in the US (or by users outside the US, creating their own US account*).

This week, Major Nelson shows you how to place your own picture as the background for your Xbox Live, games, media, and system blades.

Will we be seeing a new Major's Minute each week, or have MS slipped up?

Stay tuned to find out.

Update: I contacted AceyBongos, Microsoft's Community Manager for Europe, and he had this to say on the matter: -

"Glad you like the video - we're testing a few different things but I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with what we've got coming up soon. And hopefully we'll have some locally-produced stuff up soon too!"

So, definitely not a slip up by MS. Expect further video updates in the future.

*Please note that creating an account for a region that you don't currently reside in, is against the T&C's and may result in the loss of not only the account you created, but also your "real" account.

Kotaku are reporting that video games will be a part of the Beijing Olympics. Before you flex your fingers and drop your job in favour of earning gold for your country, let me point out that they won't be as an actual event, merely part of the opening ceremony/welcoming event.

GGL will be hosting a series of tournaments featuring contests and competitive gaming that looks set to attract more gamers than the actual Olympics itself.

"This is the moment that gamers have been waiting for: a galvanizing event that both celebrates and legitimizes the culture of videogames – the most prominent entertainment form for today’s generation," said Frank Yong, CEO of GGL China.

"[We] are pleased to be working with GGL to elevate videogames – the 99th Official Sport of China – to the world stage," said Fong Hong, Honorary General Secretary of the China Internet Gaming Organising Committee. "Because of GGL’s global reach, content & community, brand recognition, technical capabilities, tournament expertise, strong ties with the gamer community and a rapidly growing Chinese presence, it was a natural fit when deciding who would be the perfect partner for this event."

(Source)

More here.

Major Nelson has just made a quick post to inform people that they can now update their gamertag/profile information via Xbox.com, rather than being forced to use their 360.

"When we shipped the dashboard update in December, we added the ability to enter your name, location and a bio in the dashboard. I am happy to announce that starting today, you can now edit those fields on Xbox.com. To add or edit this information, sign in to Xbox.com then go to Manage Profile then click Edit Personal Profile. This page has a place to edit those three fields directly in your browser. Much easier, huh?"

Excellent news for those of us that don't have the chatpad.

Infinity Ward recently submitted a patch for Call of Duty 4 to Microsoft for certification.

"Fourtwozero", Community Relations Manager, addressed the CoD 4 community to show them what to expect when the update hits.

New Kill Cams
We’ve added new Kill Cams for everything. So now those “WTF!” grenades that seemingly come from no where, you can see that a guy threw it over the house, it hit a tree branch, bounced off a rock, into a tiny window, where you happened to be pointing out of, and say…… whoa. Follow behind RPGs and M203’s kill cams, claymores, Airstrikes where you can follow the bomb from the plane until it hits you.

Host Migration
Now you won’t have to be dropped back by yourself when a host leaves. Instead, everyone will stay together, a new host will be assigned, and the game will auto-start back up. Keeping everyone together, no more re-inviting, re-joining games because some host leaves. This has been a tall order and something that we’ve put a lot of work into which has allowed us to really optimize online play all around not just specifically with Host migration.

Improved Sniper / ACOG Accuracy
Sniper and ACOG scopes have been tweaked and are really improved. I use to not snipe at all (mainly because I’m a horrible sniper), but now it’s so much more fluid and natural, while still having the same difficulty to use, it has no more “WTF I know I hit that guy!” moments.

Upgraded Spectator Cam
Now when you’re in spectator mode you can follow them in 3rd person, switch to their first person view, or rotate the camera in a full 360 degrees around whoever you’re watching.

Quick Mute Option
Users will now be able to quick mute players on the fly by pulling up the scoreboard in-game or via the lobby by simply going to their name and hitting the mute assigned button. As quickly as calling in and designating an airstike. So no longer getting killed while trying to make your way through the Xbox blades for the mute option so you can shut up the guy who always seems to find it funny to sing into his mic or cover up for his lack of skill by telling you how to play Domination his way.

Full story here.

Bioware have released details of the upcoming downloadable content pack for Mass Effect. 

The pack will add a new uncharted world, a new race, as well as an additional 50GS for completing the new mission.

 
Mass Effect - Bring Down The Sky

One of a planned series of packs, the "Bring Down The Sky" pack will be launched on March 10th, and retail for the bargain price of 400 MS points.

Xbox.com recently updated their Xbox Originals section to include a number of new titles.

Black, Ninja Gaiden Black, and Sid Meier's Pirates! will be available for download on February 11th, and will cost 1200 MS points.

More here, or take a look at the Xbox Originals line up for yourself.

According to both 20pGaming, and the official CoD 4 forums, work is currently underway to bring new maps to Call of Duty 4.

"fourzerotwo", the Infinity Ward Community Relations Manager, had this to say: -

"I've got some big news I know that everyone has been waiting on official confirmation of and I’m excited to let you guys know that we’re currently working on some official new maps for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare that are going to be available as DLC in the future. Last week I let you know that we were on the look out for the best community-made maps, but this week I can let the news out that we’re working on official IW-made maps of our own as well behind the scenes. "

"These new maps will be adding even more variety to the online multiplayer of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and I’m excited to gradually share more details regarding the new maps as we progress. So keep your eyes tuned to the blog as I'm going to be sharing sneak peek details and insights on what you can expect as we get further and further along with the DLC."

Full story, here.

IGN has just announced that the recently released Burnout Paradise is their Game of the Month for January 2008.

Why did they pick it?

"Burnout Paradise has its share of flaws, but it's also incredibly fun. The change to an open world brought its share of issues, like having to use the map as a crutch to get around for a while, but it also allows for freedom unseen in any recent racing game. Most importantly though, Criterion has once again delivered a racing experience that can best be described as controlled chaos, one where even crashing is immensely rewarding. If you're even a remote fan of racing games, be sure to check this out."

Rez HD also won the GOTM award for XBLA titles. 

More information can be found, here.

Bioshock recently picked up the Game Critics Game of the Year award for 2007.

The full top 10 list is as follows: -

1. BioShock
2. The Orange Box
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
4. Rock Band
5. Super Mario Galaxy
6. Halo 3
7. Mass Effect
8. God of War II
9. Assassin's Creed
10. Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

Dan Hsu, Editor in Chief of EGM, had this to say on the winner: -

"It's awfully pretty (old neon signs pierce the darkness of a ruined underwater utopia; water realistically streams and dribbles from cracks in the walls...). It sounds neat (distant whispers of hidden enemies increase the tension, while the screen-shaking roar of a Big Daddy just flat-out scares the crap out of you...). And it really f's with your mind ("Would you kindly"...anyone?). BioShock truly shocked, amazed, and pushed all sorts of boundaries for gaming. And while we felt it was 2007's best title, we're betting its influence will extend well beyond 2007. No one wants to see a bunch of BioShock clones, mind you. But if we can get refreshing, mind-blowing experiences like this more often from now on, we'd kindly get in line."

More information about the nine remaining games in the list, can be found here.